DCC Spell - Deytasso's Dimensional Door

 

I want to state off,  for the record, I have never been a fan of ‘fey step’ or the like, where characters can teleport 10’ in modern iterations of D&D ... it feels, well, video game-y to me.  That confession out of the way, I do really miss the idea of Dimension Door as a spell in my DCC game. 

Way back, the Wormy cartoon in Dragon Magazine had some very evocative images of this spell in action, and I’d like to make that possible for my players … I also like the thematic idea of a hanging, glowing portal in thin air to step through.  So, that feels like it's very Appendix N, very thematic, and belongs in my game.

Writing it up, I compared it to Planar Step, which is a 3rd level spell, and decided 2nd level would be the place to put it, but put in some heavy constraints (which are faithful to the original D&D spell) about the caster declaring exactly where you end up, and if it's inside a wall, it automatically misfires.

Thoughts and suggestions?  Drop me a note at archadethered@gmail.com 

 

Deytasso’s Dimensional Door

Level:                            2                                                                              Range:                          10’              Casting Time:            1 round                                                                Duration:                    Varies       Save:                             N/A

The caster is able to open an interdimensional portal and transport themselves a limited distance, from one location to another.  Casters with greater mastery of this spell may travel further distances, and transport companions should they wish.       If the destination cannot be viewed, the caster must specify where they would like to end up (eg. 40 feet forward, and 10 feet up), and if that destination is a solid space or occupied, the spell immediately misfires, regardless of the caster roll.  If they are transported to an area above the ground, they fall and take damage as normal with no magical safeguards.

Manifestation: Roll 1d4: (1) a glowing doorway hovering just above the ground appears, that can be stepped through, although the destination is hazy and shimmering; (2) a swirling dark column of smoke appears with tendrils that draw nearby creatures towards it; (3) a glowing archway appears on a nearby wall, tree, hillside, or other object; (4) floating golden motes in the area alight on the caster, causing them to fade from this sphere of reality.

Corruption: Roll 1d7: (1) caster becomes translucent, with dancing star motes beneath their skin; (2) caster now passes through all objects made of metal, and cannot wield or be harmed by metal weapons; (3) Caster has made themselves known as a dimensional traveler, and may be summoned themselves by extraplanar wizards – there is a 1% chance each week they will randomly disappear for 1d6 minutes, and make a Luck check or return having suffered some distant calamity causing 3d6 hp damage; (4-5) minor corruption; (6) major corruption; (7) greater corruption.

Misfire:    Roll 1d5: (1) caster is transported 1d10 x 10’ in a random direction, to an unoccupied space, (2) caster is not transported anywhere, but start flickering in and out of existence for the next 1d6 turns, granting a +4 to AC but subtracting -4 from any attack, spell check, or skill check as they phase in and out of this dimension; (3) caster disappears for 1d10 x 1d10 minutes, reappearing in the same location; (4) caster accidentally transports all their possessions 1d100 x 10’ in a random direction, to an unoccupied space; (5) PC is shunted to a nearby open space, suffering 3d4 damage in the process

Mercurial Magic:

1                  Lost, failure, and worse! Roll 1d6 modified by Luck: (0 or less) corruption + misfire + patron taint; (1-2) corruption; (3) patron taint (or corruption if no patron); (4+) misfire.

2-11           Lost, failure.

12-13         Failure, but spell is not lost.

14-17         The caster may step through the portal with their next action, appearing up to 10’ x CL away.

18-21         The caster may step through the portal with their next action, appearing up to 30’ x CL away.

22-23         The caster may step through the portal with their next action, appearing up to 60’ x CL away.  They may leave the portal open for up to an additional 1d4 rounds, allowing other creatures to travel to the same destination if they step through before the spell expires.  The portal only allows one-way travel.

24-26         The caster may step through the portal with their next action, appearing up to 100’ x CL away. They may leave the portal open for up to an additional 1d6 rounds, allowing other creatures to travel to the same destination if they step through before the spell expires.  The portal allows two-way travel.

27-31         As the result of 24-26, but the gateway will remain in existence for 2d6 rounds, and the caster may dismiss the gateway and spell at any time.

32-33         As the result of 24-26, but the gateway will remain in existence for 2d3 turns, the caster may dismiss the gateway and spell at any time, and permit or deny travel through the gateway by any creature that attempts to pass through it.

34+             As the result of 24-26, but the gateway will remain in existence for up to CL hours.  The caster may cause the gateway to become invisible and disappear, or reappear with a word, they can dismiss the gateway and spell at any time, and permit or deny travel through the gateway by any creature that attempts to pass through it.